Days to Maturity: 85 from transplant

This delicious hot, zesty pepper is also a festive ornamental for the patio, container, or border. Like tiny Christmas-tree lights, the 1-inch fruits of bright red and green poke out all over mounded 18-inch plants.

Intended as an ornamental pepper for containers of all kinds, Thai is also a fantastic hot chile pepper for cuisine. These small peppers really pack a wallop50,000 to 100,000 Scovilles of heat! this makes them a terrific pest repellant, of course, but be careful taking a bite of one right off the plant.

The peppers begin green, then quickly turn bright, glossy red and remain that way for weeks, adding nice pops of color all over the plant, among healthy green foliage. A great addition to mixed containers with flowering annuals and foliage plants, Thai adds a distinctively different look and a nice measure of pest protection.

Start seeds indoors about 7 to 10 weeks before the last anticipated spring frost date. The seedlings should have at least 2 sets of true leaves, and all trace of frost be past, before transplanting outdoors. Fertilize when the blooms appear, and water well. Fruit is most nutritious if allowed to ripen on the plant.